Full Time Officers have a Full Time Summer

Here at The Siren, we think it’s important for you to know as much as possible about Your Union and how it works for you. So Becca Taylor set off to talk to each of your elected full time officers and catch up on what they’d been doing with their summers. Today, we give you Union President Luke James.

This year’s SU President, Luke James, is no newbie in the full-time team. Last year’s education officer, James saw a successful year in campaigning against Saturday exams and Modern Foreign Language course cuts. This year, he has big plans of ‘Bursting the Bubble’ of the SU and funding student-led campaigns on a range of issues.

Luke James’ summer began with working towards increasing the accessibility of the Students’ Union to the general student body. Sabbatical officers have been renamed to full-time officers, giving continuity with the part-time executive officers. Student General Meetings, or SGMs, have been renamed Student Forum, a clearer description of their purpose. The format has also been changed, giving more opportunity for open discussion rather than a motion based meeting. The first of these will be in the marquee on Fulton Lawn, on the 6th of October, at 6pm (there’s free pizza too!).

In terms of his manifesto, James has been hard at work over the summer planning for the year. JC’s has been refurbished, but James is keen to congratulate the staff on that success rather than claim any credit for himself. “Apart from getting the mandate for the refit to be done, it’s all down to the actual staff for getting it ready.”

Luke James also praised the new look Waterfront as it launches for the new academic year. James said that the Waterfront has long been a passion of his, and was the reason for his involvement with the SU. He’s proud of the new editors and the pieces in the freshers’ launch issue.

Finally, and perhaps most monumentally, James has secured a module on the history of the Students’ Union in the History department. Students will be able to formally study the political and social history of the SU, an exciting move for SU-types and those keen to know more about why an SU is so important.

Luke James has his work cut out for him, but if his successes continue over the year at the same pace as the summer, he’ll have no problems.